Lifestyle

How Caffeine and CBD Might be the Combo You Have Been Missing

April 27, 2022 by
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At first glance, the thought of taking caffeine and CBD together might sound like mixing oil and water.

“Isn’t caffeine’s purpose to wake me up, and CBD helps me sleep?”

Logically that makes sense, but KILL CLIFF’s new sugar-free Octane beverage—which includes 125mg of caffeine and 125mg of broad spectrum hemp extract that yields 25mg of CBD—is aiming to prove that mixing caffeine and CBD is a match made in heaven for the CrossFit athlete, as it provides the sought-after energy boost from the caffeine, along with the recovery effects from the CBD.

Dispelling CBD Myths

KILL CLIFF’s Lauren Rothschild admitted that the CrossFit community, who has long been loyal to KILL CLIFF’s clean energy and recovery drinks, has been a bit gun shy to embrace their Octane beverage, as many equate CBD with sleep.

“A lot of people think that CBD might make you tired, so people are taken aback by it or confused. But the goal with this drink is to really give you the benefits of CBD,” Rothschild said, adding that these other benefits include improved recovery, reduced inflammation and joint pain, as well as improved mood. 

This, along with the “boost from the caffeine,” she explained, make their Octane drink, released in November 2021, their most powerful energy and recovery product so far.

Won’t it get me high?

The second big myth many believe is that CBD will get them high, explained KILL CLIFF marketing manager Connie Cambre. 

“Will this get me high? Will I fail a drug test? And the answer is absolutely not,” said Cambre, as its THC is what gives you the high, and the CBD in their Octane beverage gets extracted from the THC. 

“You would have to drink a planetary amount, so that’s just completely false,” Cambre said.

The same is true of becoming paranoid, Cambre said. It’s THC that can lead to paranoid thoughts, whereas CBD acts as a relaxation agent. 

Further, unlike other CBD drinks on the market today, such as various CBD waters and seltzers, KILL CLIFF is the only company that has published the exact amount of CBD in their drink, giving CrossFit athletes even more reason to continue to trust KILL CLIFF, Cambre added. 

Something else to consider

Beyond helping with recovery, inflammation, and mood, CBD is also believed to help with your immune system, Cambre explained. 

Here’s how: As you probably know, CBD comes from the cannabis plant, which contains chemical cannabinoid compounds that all produce different effects on the body.

Our bodies, however, also produce cannabinoids on our own, as well as receptor sites for cannabinoids, in the endocannabinoid system (ECS), a system that plays an important role in central nervous system development, as well as immune system function. And when you consume CBD, it directs our bodies to use more of its own natural cannabinoids, thus helping “nurture your endocannabinoid system,” Cambre explained, and ultimately boost your immune system.

Further, CBD is also known to work as an immunomodulator, which is believed to help regulate or normalize the immune system. 

The Bottom Line

KILL CLIFF’s new Octane Caffeine + CBD beverage, which also includes important nutrients such as B vitamins, electrolytes, green tea, ginger and ginseng, is the perfect pre-workout drink for the CrossFit athlete, Rothschild and Cambre agree, both for short and long term effects. 

“I’m really susceptible to caffeine…I’m one of those who is getting jittery and shaky, so it was previously atypical for me to take a pre-workout before…now I can have this product available where the CBD kind of balances out those jitters so I can still get that energy while still getting a hard workout,” Cambre said of the immediate affects. 

Rothschild added: “I want some caffeine before I workout, for sure, and I’d rather get ahead of recovery if I have that opportunity to. I do all sorts of stuff…Theragun and cryotherapy, so anything I can do to make myself less sore so I can get back to training is something I’m going to reach for.”

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